Non-transitory computer readable medium storing electronic musical instrument program, method for musical sound generation process and electronic musical instrument

ABSTRACT

An electronic musical instrument, method for a musical sound generation process and a non-transitory computer readable medium that stores an electronic musical instrument program are provided. The program causes a computer provided with a storage part to execute a musical sound generation process using sound data. The program causes the computer to execute: acquiring, from the storage part, first sound data and first user identification information indicating a user who has acquired the first sound data from a distribution server; acquiring second user identification information indicating a user who causes the musical sound generation process to be executed using the first sound data; determining whether or not the first user identification information matches the second user identification information; and inhibiting execution of the musical sound generation process using the first sound data in a case when the first user identification information does not match the second user identification information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/308,054, filed on May 5, 2021, which claims the priority benefit ofJapan Application Serial No. 2020-082550, filed on May 8, 2020. Theentirety of each of the above-mentioned patent applications is herebyincorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a non-transitory computer readablemedium storing an electronic musical instrument program, a method for amusical sound generation process and an electronic musical instrument inwhich utilization of sound data that does not satisfy utilizationconditions any more can be curbed.

Description of Related Art

For example, a system that performs control to prevent persons otherthan a user who has purchased sound data from using the sound data whensound data purchased by a user is downloaded from a server thatdistributes sound data to electronic musical instruments is known.According to Patent Document 1, a server determines whether or not sounddata purchased by a user is available to an electronic musicalinstrument when the sound data is to be transmitted to the electronicmusical instrument, the sound data not being transmitted to theelectronic musical instrument in a case in which it is determined thatthe sound data is not available, and the sound data being transmitted tothe electronic musical instrument only in a case in which it isdetermined that the sound data is available.

Patent Document

-   [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 6171793

However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 listed above has aproblem that sound data that has already been downloaded to anelectronic musical instrument may be able to be used as it is even in acase in which the sound data originally was not available as a result ofa change in utilization conditions or the like after the downloading ofthe sound data to the electronic musical instrument, since all to dowhen the purchased sound data is transmitted from a server to theelectronic musical instrument is just to grant the utilization by theserver. For example, there is a problem that even if a user who uses anelectronic musical instrument changes in a case in which a utilizationcondition that a user who purchases sound data has to match the user whois using the electronic musical instrument is set, sound data purchasedby the user before the change can be used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided anon-transitory computer readable medium that stores an electronicmusical instrument program for causing a computer provided with astorage part to execute a musical sound generation process using sounddata. The electronic musical instrument program causing the computer toexecute: acquiring, from the storage part, first sound data and firstuser identification information indicating a user who has acquired thefirst sound data from a distribution server; acquiring second useridentification information indicating a user who causes the musicalsound generation process to be executed using the first sound data;making determination regarding whether or not the first useridentification information matches the second user identificationinformation; and inhibiting execution of the musical sound generationprocess using the first sound data in a case in which it is determinedthat the first user identification information does not match the seconduser identification information in the making of determination.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided anelectronic musical instrument that is provided with a storage part andexecutes a musical sound generation process using sound data. Theelectronic musical instrument includes: an acquisition section thatacquires, from the storage part, first sound data and first useridentification information indicating a user who has acquired the firstsound data from a distribution server; a user acquisition section thatacquires second user identification information indicating a user whocauses the musical sound generation process to be executed using thefirst sound data; a user determination section that determines whetheror not the first user identification information matches the second useridentification information; and an inhibition section that inhibitsexecution of the musical sound generation process using the first sounddata in a case in which the user determination section determines thatthe first user identification information does not match the second useridentification information.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a methodfor a musical sound generation process that is a method for anelectronic musical instrument provided with a storage part executing amusical sound generation process using sound data. The method includes:acquiring, from the storage part, first sound data and first useridentification information indicating a user who has acquired the firstsound data from a distribution server; acquiring second useridentification information indicating a user who causes the musicalsound generation process to be executed using the first sound data;making determination regarding whether or not the first useridentification information matches the second user identificationinformation; and inhibiting execution of the musical sound generationprocess using the first sound data in a case in which it is determinedthat the first user identification information does not match the seconduser identification information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating electrical configurations of aPC, an electronic musical instrument, and a server that have anelectronic musical instrument program according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating content in a managementinformation memory.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating content in an owned sounddata table.

FIG. 4(a) is a flowchart of an activation process executed by a CPU ofthe PC, and FIG. 4(b) is a flowchart of a timer process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a management information updating process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a sound data loading process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a sound addition process executed by a CPU ofthe electronic musical instrument

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the disclosure provides anon-transitory computer readable medium storing an electronic musicalinstrument program, a method for a musical sound generation process andan electronic musical instrument capable of curbing utilization of sounddata that does not satisfy utilization conditions any more.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings. First, an overview of a data utilizationsystem S including a personal computer (PC) 30 and an electronic musicalinstrument 50 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 . FIG. 1 is ablock diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the datautilization system S. The data utilization system Sis configured toinclude a server 10 (distribution server), the PC connected to theserver 10 via the Internet 2, and the electronic musical instrument 50in which data is input and output with respect to the PC 30 via arecording medium 45.

The electronic musical instrument 50 is a synthesizer that mixes andoutputs (emits sound) musical sound generated by a user performing anoperation of playing a keyboard 56 and predetermined accompaniment soundor the like. The electronic musical instrument 50 performs apredetermined arithmetic operation on waveform data obtained by mixingsound data generated by the player playing the instrument, accompanimentsound, and the like and applies effects such as reverberation, chorus,and delay to the sound, through operations of a plurality of operators57. The PC 30 operates like such a synthesizer by executing aninstrument application program (electronic musical instrument program)32 a that is a so-called software synthesizer.

The server 10 is a computer that stores a plurality of pieces of sounddata that is available for the software synthesizer of the PC 30 and theelectronic musical instrument 50 and distributes the sound data to thePC 30 and the like. The PC 30 and the electronic musical instrument 50are devices that the user has, and the server 10 is a device that adistributor of the sound data has.

The server 10 has a CPU 11, an HDD 12, and a RAM 13, each of which isconnected to an input/output port 15 via a bus line 14. Also, each of aninput part 16 that inputs a command from an administrator of the server10, a display part 17 that displays information or the like at the timeof input, a real-time clock (RTC) 18 that measures a date and a clocktime, and a communication part 19 is connected to the input/output port15.

The CPU 11 is an arithmetic operation device that controls each partconnected via the bus line 14. The HDD 12 is a rewritable non-volatilestorage device that stores various programs, fixed value data, and thelike during execution by the CPU 11. The HDD 12 is provided with a sounddata memory 12 a and a management information memory 12 b. These areillustrated as “sound data” and “management information”, respectively,in FIG. 1 .

The sound data memory 12 a is a memory in which a plurality of pieces ofsound data that is available for the PC 30 and the electronic musicalinstrument 50 is stored. The sound data is sound source data of musicalsound generated by the software synthesizer of the PC 30 and theelectronic musical instrument 50. Also, the sound data includesparameter values and waveform information related to tones.

When the server 10 receives a request for outputting sound data to thePC 30 or the like from the user of the PC 30 and the electronic musicalinstrument 50, the server 10 outputs the sound data to the PC 30 or thelike that is an origin of the request. When the server 10 outputs thesound data to the PC 30 or the like, authentication information when thesound data is used by the PC 30 or the like is also output from theserver 10. Details of the authentication information will be describedlater.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the management information memory 12 b will bedescribed. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating content in themanagement information memory 12 b. The management information memory 12b is a memory in which management information such as productinformation related to sound data that can be distributed (output) toeach user is stored. The management information stored in the managementinformation memory 12 b includes individual management information 21for each user who has registered for a service to obtain sound data fromthe server 10 and sharing management information 23 that is common toall the users.

The individual management information 21 stores a user ID (useridentification information) for identifying a user who has registeredfor this service, a subscription authority (user authority) representinga contract type for service utilization of the user, a last access clocktime that is a clock time when a user last accessed the server 10acquired from the RTC 18, and a purchase history memory 21 a indicatinga purchase history of the user. The user ID is different for eachregistered user and may be set as a “user A” and a “user B”, forexample. Also, if the registration of a user is canceled, then theindividual management information 21 including the user ID of that useris deleted.

As the subscription authority, one of “normal”, “core”, “pro”, and“ultimate” is set. “Core”, “pro”, and “ultimate” indicate contractstates of users paying monthly flat-rate fees or the like and purchasingrights to use sound data of specific sound IDs for specific periods oftime. “Ultimate” is a contract type according to which all pieces ofsound data that are available with the subscription authority can beused. In addition, the available sound data decreases in order of “pro”,“core”, and “normal”. “Normal” indicates a contract type of a user whohas not paid a flat-rate fee. However, “normal”, “core”, and “pro” userscan also move to “ultimate” for a specific period of time only if theypay a fee for that specific period of time.

The purchase history memory 21 a is a memory that stores a sound IDindicating identification information of the sound data purchased by theuser. The sound data purchased by the user does not have a date ofexpiry, and the user who purchased the sound data is permanentlypermitted to use the sound data. A license type “1” indicating apermanent type for which permanent utilization is permitted is set forthe sound data that can be obtained through purchase.

The sharing management information 23 includes a product informationtable 23 a that stores product information of sound data. The productinformation table 23 a stores information related to sound data that iscurrently being distributed and sound data distributed in the past.Specifically, the product information table 23 a stores each of a soundID of sound data, a sound name indicating a name of the sound data, amodel ID indicating a model that can use the sound data, and a licensetype of the sound data for each piece of sound data.

Every time new sound data is distributed, contents in the productinformation table 23 a are updated in accordance with an input from theadministrator to the input part 16. However, the sound ID, the soundname, and the license type in the product information table 23 a arebasically not able to be edited once defined. In a case in which it isdesired to change the license type of the sound data after distribution,for example, a new sound ID indicating that the data is the same as thesound data after the distribution is acquired, and the sound ID and thelicense type that is desired to be changed are stored in the productinformation table 23 a in an associated manner.

The model ID is identification information indicating the type of thesoftware synthesizer (instrument application program 32 a) of the PC 30that uses the sound data and identification information indicating thetype of the electronic musical instrument 50. The model ID of thesoftware synthesizer of the PC 30 is “musical instrument application A”,and the model ID of the electronic musical instrument 50 is “electronicmusical instrument A”. Also, in a case in which a new device or aprogram for a software synthesizer is released, a model ID unique to thedevice or the program may be added to a region of the model ID in theproduct information table 23 a.

Also, in a case in which no model ID has been set for sound data ofproduct information, this means that the sound data is available for anymodel. In other words, in a case in which the sound data is availablefor any model,“—” is set as an identifier that matches all model IDs inthe model IDs associated with the sound data.

The license type indicates a utilization form of the sound data based ona contract type for the user to use the service, purchase, freedistribution, or the like. The license type “1” indicates that theutilization form of the sound data is based on purchase as describedabove.

The license type “2” indicates that the utilization form of the sounddata is based on the contract type and indicates that utilization of thesound data is granted using a subscription authority representing thecontract type. The sharing management information 23 includes anauthority table 23 b related to the license type “2” in addition to theproduct information table 23 a. The authority table 23 b stores a soundID available with each subscription authority. The fact that sound datawith the sound ID 1 is available in a case in which the subscriptionauthority is “normal” is stored in the authority table 23 b. Similarly,the fact that sound data with sound IDs 1, 2, and 3 is available in acase in which the subscription authority is “core”, sound data withsound IDs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 is available in a case in which thesubscription authority is “pro”, and all sound data that has sound IDs1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and is associated with the license type “2” isavailable in a case in which the subscription authority is “ultimate” isstored in the authority table 23 b.

The license types “3” and “4” indicate that the utilization form of thesound data is based on a campaign (a project such as free distribution).The sharing management information 23 includes a campaign table 23 crelated to the license type “3” and a campaign table 23 d related to thelicense type “4” in addition to the product information table 23 a andthe authority table 23 b. The campaign tables 23 c and 23 d store soundIDs of sound data that has been distributed through a campaign and iscurrently available for each type of campaign. The fact that the sounddata with a sound ID 9 has been distributed for free as a bonus in acampaign and is currently available is stored in the campaign table 23c.

The fact that sound data with a sound ID 10 has been distributed forfree in a campaign as a bundle and is currently available is stored inthe campaign table 23 d related to the license type “4”. A bundlecampaign is for distributing sound data to a user who purchases each ofthe software synthesizer of the PC 30 and the electronic musicalinstrument 50 in a predetermined period of time, for example. Therefore,“musical instrument application A” and “electronic musical instrument A”are set for a model ID with which sound data of a license type “4” isavailable. Models that can use the sound data of the license type “4”can be limited afterward by deleting either of these two model IDs aftera predetermined period of time from the distribution of the sound datain the bundle campaign.

The sound IDs stored in the authority table 23 b and the campaign tables23 c and 23 d can be changed in accordance with inputs from theadministrator of the server 10 to the input part 16. In addition, if thesubscription authority that the user has is changed as stored in theauthority table 23 b, sound data that is available for the user is alsochanged. Therefore, the license types “2”, “3”, and “4” indicatenon-permanent types in which granting of utilization of sound datachanges for the user indicated by the user ID on the basis of themanagement information defined in the server 10.

FIG. 1 will be referred to again. The RAM 13 is a memory that storesvarious kinds of work data, flags, and the like in a rewritable mannerwhen the CPU 11 executes programs such as a control program. Thecommunication part 19 is a device connected to the PC 30 via theInternet 2 for transmitting and receiving various kinds of data to andfrom the PC 30.

If the server 10 receives a request to transmit management informationto the PC from a registered user, then the server 10 transmits themanagement information including the individual management information21 and the sharing management information 23 related to the user to thePC 30 via the communication part 19. Also, if the server 10 receives arequest to transmit sound data to the PC 30 from the registered user,then the server 10 transmits the requested sound data and authenticationinformation for certifying the sound data to the PC 30 via thecommunication part 19. The authentication information includes a soundID, a model ID, and a license type associated with the sound name of therequested sound data in the product information table 23 a and a user IDof the user who has requested the sound data.

Also, it is not always necessary to transmit a request signal totransmit the management information and the sound data to the PC 30 fromthe PC 30 to the server 10. If the request signal includes requestedinformation, a user ID of a registered user, and a transmissiondestination, then the request signal may be transmitted to the server 10from a PC that is different from the PC 30, a mobile phone device, orthe like via the Internet 2. In a case in which a web site forrequesting sound data is logged into from the PC 30 to request fortransmission of specific sound data to the PC 30, for example, the sounddata and the authentication information including the user ID used tolog into the website are transmitted to the PC 30 in an associatedstate.

The PC 30 has a CPU 31, an HDD 32, and a RAM 33, each of which isconnected to an input/output port 35 via a bus line 34. Also, each of acommunication part 36, a digital-to-analog (D/A converter) 37, an inputpart 39 such as a mouse and a keyboard for inputting commands from theuser (player), a display part 40 that displays information at the timeof input and the like, an RTC 41 configured in the same manner as theRTC 18 of the server 10, and an external input/output terminal 42 isconnected to the input/output port 35. A speaker 38 is connected to theD/A 37.

The CPU 31 is an arithmetic operation device that controls each partconnected via the bus line 34. The HDD 32 is a rewritable non-volatilestorage device. The HDD 32 is provided with each of an instrumentapplication program 32 a, a model ID memory 32 b, an owned sound datatable 32 c, and a management information memory 32 d. In FIG. 1 , themodel ID memory 32 b and the management information memory 32 d areillustrated as “model ID” and “management information”, respectively.

The instrument application program 32 a is a program for the softwaresynthesizer that causes the PC 30 to operate as a synthesizer. If theCPU 31 executes the instrument application program 32 a, an activationprocess (see FIG. 4(a)) is executed immediately after the execution, anda timer process (see FIG. 4(b)) is executed at every hour measured bythe RTC 41. In the activation process, a management information updatingprocess (see FIG. 5 ) is executed. Moreover, a sound data loadingprocess (see FIG. 6 ) is executed as an interruption process when sounddata used for the musical sound generation process is selected from theowned sound data table 32 c in the HDD 32.

Also, in a state in which the CPU 31 is executing the instrumentapplication program 32 a, a process of requesting for transmission ofsound data from the server 10 to the PC 30, a process (data storagestep) of storing the sound data and the authentication informationacquired from the server 10, or a portable storage device, and the likein the owned sound data table 32 c, a process of creating/editing thesound data, and the like are performed in accordance with inputs to theinput part 39.

Moreover, in a case in which performance information is input from theinput part 39 in the state in which the CPU 31 is executing theinstrument application program 32 a, a process of executing the musicalsound generation process of generating musical sound signals inaccordance with various setting values and the like and outputting themusical sound signals to the D/A 37 is performed. The D/A 37 convertsdigital musical sound signals into analog signals and outputs the analogsignals to the speaker 38. The speaker 38 generates musical sound basedon the musical sound signals output from the D/A 37.

The model ID memory 32 b is a memory that stores a model ID unique tothe instrument application program 32 a (software synthesizer). When theuser installs the instrument application program 32 a in the PC 30, themodel ID unique to the instrument application program 32 a is stored inthe model ID memory 32 b.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the owned sound data table 32 c will be described.FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating content in the ownedsound data table 32 c. The owned sound data table 32 c stores sound datareceived from the server 10 via the Internet 2 and authenticationinformation for certifying the sound data in an associated manner. Theauthentication information includes a sound ID, a user ID, a model ID,and a license type as described above.

Description will be returned to FIG. 1 . The management informationmemory 32 d stores management information received from the server 10via the internet 2. The management information stored in the managementinformation memory 32 d includes individual management information 21with a user ID stored in the user ID memory 33 a in the RAM 33 andsharing management information 23. In a case in which the user ID storedin the user ID memory 33 a is “user A”, for example, the managementinformation memory 32 d stores management information in the regionillustrated with the dashed line in FIG. 2 that includes the individualmanagement information 21 with the user ID of “user A” and the sharingmanagement information 23.

Also, a clock time when the server 10 transmits the managementinformation to the PC 30 is stored in a final access clock time in theindividual management information 21 in the management informationstored in the management information memory 32 d. This is because themanagement information is output from the server 10 to the PC 30 in astate in which a clock time when the user accesses the server 10 totransmit the management information to the PC 30 is stored in the finalaccess clock time in the individual management information 21 of theuser. Also, the clock time when the server 10 transmits the managementinformation to the PC 30 can be regarded as being the same as the clocktime when the PC 30 stores the management information.

The RAM 33 is a memory that stores various kinds of work data, flags,and the like in a rewritable manner when the CPU 31 executes programssuch as the instrument application program 32 a. The RAM 33 is providedwith each of a user ID memory 33 a, a management information updatingflag 33 b, and a work memory 33 c. In FIG. 1 , the user ID memory 33 ais illustrated as “user ID”.

The user ID memory 33 a is a memory that stores the user ID of the userwho is using the instrument application program 32 a on the PC 30. Thevalue of the user ID memory 33 a is initialized with an invalid valueimmediately after the CPU 31 executes the instrument application program32 a. In order for the user to use the instrument application program 32a in the activation process in FIG. 4 , a user ID used for logging-in isstored in the user ID memory 33 a after the user logs in the programusing the user ID and a password (FIG. 4 , S2).

The management information updating flag 33 b is a flag indicating thatthe management information stored in the management information memory32 d has been updated to the latest one and indicating whether or notthe management information is available for granting utilization of thesound data. Specifically, in a case in which the management informationupdating flag 33 b is turned on, this indicates that the managementinformation stored in the management information memory 32 d isavailable for granting utilization of the sound data. The managementinformation updating flag 33 b is set to be OFF immediately after theCPU 31 executes the instrument application program 32 a.

The management information updating flag 33 b is set to be ON in a casein which the management information in accordance with the useridentification information stored in the user ID memory 33 a was able tobe acquired from the server 10 (FIG. 5 , S15) and is set to be OFF in acase in which the management information was not able to be acquired(FIG. 5 , S16), in a state in which the PC 30 is connected to the server10 in the management information updating process in FIG. 5 . Also, themanagement information updating flag 33 b is set to be ON in a case inwhich an elapsed time from the clock time when the managementinformation acquired from the server 10 is stored in the managementinformation memory 32 d to the current clock time is within one week(FIG. 5 , S19), and the management information updating flag 33 b is setto be OFF in a case in which the elapsed time exceeds one week (FIG. 5 ,S20), in a state in which the PC 30 is not connected to the server 10.

The work memory 33 c is a memory that stores sound data used for themusical sound generation process in accordance with an input from theinput part 39. The work memory 33 c stores preset sound data and isinitialized immediately after the CPU 31 executes the instrumentapplication program 32 a. Also, the preset sound data is data stored ina predetermined region (not illustrated) in the HDD 32 when the userinstalls the instrument application program 32 a in the PC 30. In a casein which it is determined that sound data selected from the owned sounddata table 32 c is available in the sound data loading process in FIG. 6, the sound data is stored in the work memory 33 c (FIG. 6 , S49).

The communication part 36 is a device that is connected to the server 10via the Internet 2 for transmitting and receiving various kinds of datato and from the server 10. The external input/output terminal 42 is aninterface for transmitting and receiving various kinds of data to andfrom a portable recording medium 45.

The recording medium 45 is a rewritable non-volatile storage device andis configured to be able to be attached to and detached from theexternal input/output terminal 42. The recording medium 45 is providedwith the owned sound data table 45 a. The configuration of the ownedsound data table 45 a is the same as the configuration of the ownedsound data table 32 c in the PC 30. The owned sound data table 45 astores sound data and authentication information, for which copy hasbeen selected, among the sound data and the authentication informationstored in the owned sound data table 32 c. The present embodiment willbe described on the assumption that all the sound data and theauthentication information stored in the owned sound data table 32 c arestored in the owned sound data table 45 a.

Referring to FIGS. 4(a) to 6, the activation process, the timer process,and the sound data loading process executed by the CPU 31 in the PC 30will be described. The activation process is executed immediately afterthe CPU 31 executes the instrument application program 32 a. In theactivation process, logging-in performed by the user to use theinstrument application program 32 a and the management informationupdating process (FIG. 5 ) are executed.

FIG. 4(a) is a flowchart of the activation process. In the activationprocess, a user is caused to input a user ID and a password using theinput part 39 to log in the program (S1). Also, if the PC 30 is not in astate in which an unspecified large number of users cannot use the PC30, similar logging-in of the user may be automatically performed afteran initial input using the input part 39.

After the process in S1, the user ID used for the logging-in is storedin the user ID memory 33 a of the RAM 33 in the PC 30 (S2). The CPU 31recognizes that the user indicated by the user ID stored in the user IDmemory 33 a is currently operating the PC 30 on which the instrumentapplication program 32 a is being executed (the instrument applicationprogram 32 a is being used).

After the process in S2, the management information updating process forupdating the management information stored in the management informationmemory 32 d is performed (S3), and the activation process is then ended.Details of the management information updating process will be describedlater with reference to FIG. 5 .

As illustrated in FIG. 4(b), the timer process is repeatedly executed atevery one hour through an interval interruption process at every onehour after the CPU 31 executes the instrument application program 32 a.The timer process is ended after the same management informationupdating process as the management information updating process (S3) inthe activation process in FIG. 4(a) is performed (S7). Through the timerprocess, the management information is periodically updated to thelatest one. Also, the management information updating process (S3, S7)may be performed in a case in which an input for updating the managementinformation is provided from the input part 39.

Next, the management information updating process (S3, S7) executedduring the activation process in FIG. 4(a) and the timer process in FIG.4(b) will be described with reference to FIG. 5 . In the managementinformation updating process (S3, S7), a process of acquiring the latestmanagement information from the server 10 and turning-on and turning-offof the management information updating flag 33 b are performed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the management information updating process(S3, S7). In the management information updating process (S3, S7),whether or not the PC 30 is connected to the server 10 by thecommunication part 36 via the Internet 2 is checked in order todetermine whether or not the management information can be acquired fromthe server 10 first (S11). In a case in which the PC 30 is connected tothe server 10 (S11: Yes), a request to transmit, to the PC 30,management information related to the user ID indicating the user who iscurrently using the PC 30 and stored in the user ID memory 33 a in thePC 30 is provided to the server 10 (S12).

After the process in S12, whether or not the management informationincluding the individual management information 21 including the user IDstored in the user ID memory 33 a and the sharing management information23 has successfully been acquired is checked (S13). In other words,whether or not the management information including the individualmanagement information 21 related to the user who is operating the PC 30has been able to be acquired from the server 10 as requested is checkedin the process in S13.

In a case in which the management information has been able to beacquired by the PC 30 from the server 10 as requested in the process inS13 (S13: Yes), the management information acquired by the PC 30 fromthe server 10 is stored in the management information memory 32 d in thePC 30 (S14). Since the latest management information is stored in themanagement information memory 32 d, the management information updatingflag 33 b is turned on (SIS) such that the management information storedin the management information memory 32 d can be used to grantutilization of sound data after the process in S14, and the managementinformation updating process (S3, S7) is then ended.

In a case in which the management information has not been able to beacquired from the server 10 as requested in the process in S 13 (S13:No), the management information updating flag 33 b is turned off (S16),and the management information updating process (S3, S7) is ended. Thecase in which the management information has not been able to beacquired from the server 10 as requested (S13: No) regardless of theestablished connection to the server 10 (S11: Yes) indicates a case inwhich the individual management information 21 such as a user ID is notpresent on the side of the server 10 due to cancelation or the like ofregistration of the user indicated by the user ID stored in the user IDmemory 33 a. In this case, since the user who is using the PC 30 (who isusing the instrument application program 32 a) is not in a state inwhich the user can use the sound data acquired from the server 10, themanagement information updating flag 33 b is turned off, such that thesound data that has already been stored in the owned sound data table 32c in the PC 30 cannot be used.

In a case in which the PC 30 is not connected to the server 10 in theprocess in S11 (S11: No), a final access clock time is acquired from theindividual management information 21 of the management informationstored in the management information memory 32 d in the PC 30 (S17). Thefinal access clock time indicates a clock time when the latestmanagement information is stored in the management information memory 32d. Also, in a case in which the individual management information 21 ofthe user ID stored in the user ID memory 33 a is not present in themanagement information stored in the management information memory 32 d,a clock time passed surely one week or more before the current clocktime is acquired as the final access clock time.

After the process in S17, whether or not a difference between thecurrent clock time and the final access clock time (an elapsed time fromthe final access clock time to the current clock time) is within oneweek is checked (S18). In a case in which the difference between thecurrent clock time and the final access clock time is within one week(S18: Yes), the management information updating flag 33 b is turned on(S19), and the management information updating process (S3, S7) isended. Since there is a high probability that the management informationthat the PC 30 has matches the management information that the server 10has if the elapsed time after the last clock time when the managementinformation is stored in the management information memory 32 d in thePC 30 is within one week, the management information updating flag 33 bis turned on such that the management information stored in themanagement information memory 32 d can be used to grant the utilizationof the sound data.

On the other hand, in a case in which the difference between the currentclock time and the final access clock time exceeds one week in theprocess in S18 (S18: No), the management information updating flag 33 bis turned off (S20), and the management information updating process(S3, S7) is ended. This is because there is a high probability that themanagement information that the PC 30 has does not match the latestmanagement information that the server 10 has and it is not desirable togrant the utilization of the sound data using the management informationthat the PC 30 has. For example, in a case in which the user hascanceled or changed the aforementioned subscription authority, it ispossible to prevent the user to continue to use the sound data that isavailable on the basis of the subscription authority until now and toprovide a margin to a period after which the sound data cannot be used.

Next, the sound data loading process (hereinafter, referred to as a“loading process”) will be described with reference to FIG. 6 . Theloading process is an interruption process executed by the CPU 31 whensound data to be used for the musical sound generation process isselected from the owned sound data table 32 c in the HDD 32 and thesound data is acquired by the CPU 31 (a part of the acquisition step andthe acquisition section), and utilization of the selected sound data isgranted. Also, as the selection of the sound data, a case in which theuser selects a part of a plurality of pieces of sound data stored in theowned sound data table 32 c using the input part 39, a case in which theuser selects all the plurality of pieces of sound data using the inputpart 39, and a case in which a part or entirety of the plurality ofpieces of sound data is automatically selected after the activationprocess are exemplified.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the loading process. In the loading process,whether or not the management information updating flag 33 b has beenturned on is checked in order to determine whether or not utilization ofthe sound data can be granted using the management information stored inthe management information memory 32 d first (S42).

In a case in which the management information updating flag 33 b hasbeen turned off (S42: No), it is not possible to grant the utilizationof the sound data using the management information stored in themanagement information memory 32 d, the utilization of the sound dataselected at the time of activation of the loading process is thusinhibited (S56), and the loading process is ended. In other words, inthe process in S56, the selected sound data is not stored in the workmemory 33 c, and the sound data originally stored in the work memory 33c is used for the musical sound generation process performed later.Further, in the process in S56, an error message related to inhibitionof the utilization of the selected sound data is displayed on thedisplay part 40. Also, in a case in which the management informationupdating flag 33 b has been turned off (S42: No), content of providing acommand to receive the latest management information from the server maybe displayed for the user as an error message to be displayed in theprocess in S56.

In a case in which the management information updating flag 33 b hasbeen turned on in the process in S42 (S42: Yes), there is a probabilitythat the sound data selected at the time of the activation of theloading process is available, each of a sound ID, a user ID, a model ID,and a license type stored in the owned sound data table 32 c inassociation with the selected sound data is thus acquired (S43). Then,whether or not the user ID acquired in the process in S43 match the userID that is stored in the user ID memory 33 a in the PC 30 and indicatesthe user who is using the instrument application program 32 a (PC 30) ischecked (S44).

In a case in which the user IDs do not match each other in the processin S44 (S44: No), the process in S56 of inhibiting the utilization ofthe selected sound data is performed, and the loading process is thenended. In a case in which the user ID stored in the user ID memory 33 ain the PC 30 is “user A”, for example, utilization of the sound data No.4 (sound ID “10”) with the user ID of “user B” in the sound data storedin the owned sound data table 32 c illustrated in FIG. 3 on the PC 30 isinhibited. Also, an error message indicating that the user IDs do notmatch each other or the like may be displayed as an error messagedisplayed in the process in S56 in a case in which the user IDs do notmatch each other (S44: No).

In a case in which the user ID acquired in the process in S43 matchesthe user ID of the PC 30 in the process in S44 (S44: Yes), there is aprobability that the sound data selected in the process in S41 isavailable. In a case in which the user ID in the user ID memory 33 a inthe PC 30 is “user A”, for example, sound data Nos. 1, 2, and 3 with thematching user ID in the sound data stored in the owned sound data table32 c illustrated in FIG. 3 is available on the PC 30. Thus, whether ornot at least one of model IDs acquired in the process in S43 matches themodel ID that is stored in the model ID memory 32 b in the PC 30 and isunique to the instrument application program 32 a that is currentlybeing executed by the CPU 31 is checked (S45).

In a case in which the model IDs do not match each other (S45: No), theprocess in S56 of inhibiting the utilization of the sound data selectedin the process in S41 is performed, and the loading process is thenended. In a case in which the model ID of the instrument applicationprogram 32 a is “musical instrument application A”, for example,utilization of the sound data No. 1 (sound ID “7”) with a model ID“electronic musical instrument A” in the sound data stored in the ownedsound data table 32 c illustrated in FIG. 3 on the PC 30 is inhibitedeven if the user IDs match each other in the process in S44. Also, anerror message indicating that the model IDs do not match each other orthe like may be displayed as an error message displayed in the processin S56 in a case in which the model IDs do not match each other (S45:No).

In a case in which the model ID acquired in the process in S43 matchesthe model ID of the instrument application program 32 a in the processin S45 (S45: Yes), there is a probability that the sound data selectedat the time of the activation of the loading process is available. In acase in which the model ID of the instrument application program 32 a is“musical instrument application A”, for example, there is a probabilitythat the sound data Nos. 2 and 4 including the same model ID and thesound data No. 3 that matches all the model IDs (no specific model IDhas been set) in the sound data stored in the owned sound data table 32c illustrated in FIG. 3 are available on the PC 30. Thus, the licensetype acquired in the process in S43 is checked (S46).

In a case in which the license type is a license type “1” that theutilization form of the sound data is based on purchase (S46: 1), asound ID belonging to the purchase history memory 21 a related to thelicense type “1” is referred to using the management information storedin the management information memory 32 d (S47). As described above, thesound ID of the individual management information 21 of the user who isusing the instrument application program 32 a that is stored in thepurchase history memory 21 a is the sound ID of the sound data that isavailable as a license type “1”.

In a case in which the license type acquired in the process in S43 is alicense type “2” that the utilization form of the sound data is based ona contract type in the process in S46 (S46: 2), the sound ID belongingto each subscription authority related to the license type “2” isreferred to using the management information stored in the managementinformation memory 32 d (S51). Specific description will now be givenusing the management information illustrated in FIG. 2 . The managementinformation stored in the management information memory 32 d includesthe subscription authority stored in the individual managementinformation 21 of the user who is using the instrument applicationprogram 32 a and the authority table 23 b storing the sound ID of thesound data that is available for each subscription authority. Therefore,the sound ID of the sound data that is available with the subscriptionauthority representing the contract type of the user who is using the PC30 is referred to on the basis of the authority table 23 b in theprocess in S51.

In a case in which the license type acquired in the process in S43 is alicense type “3” that the utilization form of the sound data is based onfree distribution in the process in S46 (S46: 3), the sound ID belongingto a bonus campaign related to the license type “3” is referred to usingthe management information stored in the management information memory32 d (S52). Specifically, the sound ID stored in the campaign table 23 cof the management information is referred to. The campaign table 23 cstores the sound ID of the sound data that is available for the licensetype “3”.

In a case in which the license type acquired in the process in S43 is alicense type “4” that the utilization form of the sound data is based onfree distribution in the process in S46 (S46: 4), the sound ID belongingto a bundle campaign related to the license type “4” is referred tousing the management information stored in the management informationmemory 32 d (S53). Specifically, the sound ID stored in the campaigntable 23 d of the management information is referred to. The campaigntable 23 d stores the sound ID of the sound data that is available forthe license type “4”.

After any of the processes in S47, S51, S52, and S53, whether or not thesound ID referred to using the management information in the managementinformation memory 32 d includes the sound ID acquired in the process inS43 is checked (S48). In a case in which the sound ID referred to usingthe management information includes the sound ID acquired in the processin S43 (S48: Yes), it is determined that the sound data indicated by thesound ID, that is, the sound data selected at the time of the activationof the loading process is available for the musical sound generationprocess, the selected sound data is thus stored in the work memory 33 c(S49), and the loading process is ended.

On the other hand, in a case in which the sound ID referred to using themanagement information does not include the sound ID acquired in theprocess in S43 in the process in S48 (S48: No), the process in S56 ofinhibiting the utilization of the selected sound data is performed, andthe loading process is then ended.

For example, the owned sound data table 32 c illustrated in FIG. 3stores the sound data No. 1 (sound ID “7”) related to the license type“1”. As illustrated in FIG. 2 , in a case in which the individualmanagement information 21 of the management information stored in themanagement information memory 32 d is information of the user ID “userA”, the sound IDs of the sound data that is available for the licensetype “1” are “7” and “8”. Therefore, if the user IDs and the model IDsrelated to the sound data No. 1 match each other in the processes in S44and S45, then the sound data is available for the musical soundgeneration process through the processes in S48 and S49. On the otherhand, in a case in which the individual management information 21 in themanagement information memory 32 d is information of the user ID “userB”, the sound ID of the sound data that is available for the licensetype “1” is only “8”, and the sound data is thus not available for themusical sound generation process through the processes in S48 and S56even if the user IDs and the model IDs associated with the sound dataNo. 1 match each other in the processes in S44 and S45.

Also, the sound data stored in the owned sound data table 32 cillustrated in FIG. 3 includes sound data No. 2 (sound ID “1”)associated with the license type “2”. As illustrated in FIG. 2 , in acase in which the individual management information 21 of the managementinformation stored in the management information memory 32 d isinformation of the user ID “user A”, the subscription authority of theuser is “core”, and the sound IDs “1”, “2”, and “3” are thus referred tousing the authority table 23 b in the process in S51. Therefore, if theuser IDs and the model IDs associated with the sound data No. 2 matcheach other in the processes in S44 and S45, the sound data No. 2 isavailable for the musical sound generation process through the processesin S48 and S49.

On the other hand, as illustrated in the product information table 23 a,the sound data associated with the license type “2” does not include“4”, “5”, and “6” as sound IDs to be referred to using the authoritytable 23 b in the process in S51 when the subscription authority is“core” although the sound data includes sound data with the sound IDs“4”, “5” and “6”. Therefore, the sound data with the sound IDs “4”, “5”,and “6” is not available for the musical sound generation processthrough the processes in S48 and S56 even if the sound data with thesound IDs “4”, “5”, and “6” is stored in the owned sound data table 32 cand the user IDs and the model IDs associated with the sound data withthe sound IDs “4”, “5”, and “6” match each other in the processes in S44and S45. However, the sound data with the sound IDs “4”, “5”, and “6” isavailable for the musical sound generation process if the user IDs andthe model IDs match each other in the processes in S44 and S45 bychanging the subscription authority from “core” to “ultimate” with whichall the pieces of sound data associated with the license type “2” isavailable.

Similarly, the owned sound data table 32 c stores sound data Nos. 3 and4 (sound IDs “9” and “10”) associated with the license types “3” and“4”, respectively. Since the sound IDs “9” and “10” are referred tousing the campaign tables 23 c and 23 d of the sharing managementinformation 23 in the processes in S52 and S53, the sound data isavailable for the musical sound generation process through the processesin S48 and S49 if the user IDs and the model IDs associated with thesound data Nos. 3 and 4 match each other in the processes in S44 andS45. On the other hand, in a case in which the campaign tables 23 c and23 d do not include the sound IDs “9” and “10”, the sound data is notavailable for the musical sound generation process through the processesin S48 and S56 even if the user IDs and the model IDs associated withthe sound data Nos. 3 and 4 match each other in the processes in S44 andS45.

In a case in which the license type is not any of “1” to “4” and is thelicense type “5”, for example, in the process in S46 (S46: others), thesound data selected at the time of the activation of the loading processis not compatible with the utilization in the instrument applicationprogram 32 a executed by the PC 30, the process in S56 of inhibiting theutilization of the selected sound data is thus performed, and theloading process is then ended. An error message indicating anon-compatible license type or the like may be displayed as an errormessage displayed in the process in S56 in a case in which the licensetype is not any of “1” to “4” (S46: others). Also, a license typeindicating a utilization form of sound data based on an elapsed timeafter downloading of the sound data in the PC 30 is exemplified as thelicense type “5”.

The PC 30 on which the instrument application program 32 a as describedabove is executed is not adapted to determine whether or not a user IDof authentication information matches the user ID of the user who isusing the instrument application program 32 a that is stored in the userID memory 33 a when the sound data and the authentication informationreceived from the server 10 are stored in the owned sound data table 32c. The PC 30 determines whether or not the user IDs match each otherevery time sound data to be used for the musical sound generationprocess (sound generation signal generation process) is selected fromthe sound data that has already been stored in the owned sound datatable 32 c in the PC 30 and inhibits utilization of the sound data in acase in which the user IDs do not match each other, through theprocesses in S43, S44, and S56 in FIG. 6 .

In this manner, since the user ID of the user who is using (logging in)the instrument application program 32 a does not match the user IDassociated with sound data purchased by a user who is different from theuser who is using the instrument application program 32 a even if thesound data purchased by the different users (with different user IDs) isstored in the owned sound data table 32 c, it is possible to curbutilization of sound data purchased by other users.

Also, the selected data is available if the user ID of the user who isusing the instrument application program 32 a matches the user IDassociated with the selected sound data even in a case in which thesound data purchased by different users is stored in the owned sounddata table 32 c. In this manner, it is possible to prevent utilizationof data properly acquired by the user themselves who is using theinstrument application program 32 a through purchase or the like frombeing limited while curbing utilization of sound data purchased by otherusers and thereby to secure user's convenience.

For granting the utilization of the selected sound data, not onlymatching of the user IDs and the model IDs but also the managementinformation defined by the server 10 and related to the sound data thatis available for the user indicated by the user ID are used as thegranting of the utilization in the processes in S46 to S48 and S51 toS53 in FIG. 6 . The PC 30 acquires the management information from theserver 10 in advance, and the utilization of the sound data is grantedon the basis of the acquired management information. Therefore, it ispossible to grant the utilization of the sound data on the PC 30 onwhich the instrument application program 32 a is executed withoutacquiring the management information by the PC 30 from the server 10 ata timing when the sound data is about to be used. It is thus possible toquickly determined the granting of the utilization as compared with acase in which granting of utilization of the sound data is determined onthe server 10.

Further, in a case in which it is not possible to acquire the managementinformation from the server 10 since the PC 30 is not connected to theserver 10, it is possible to use the management information stored inthe management information memory 32 d in the PC 30 for granting theutilization of the sound data (S11: No, S19 in FIG. 5 ). Since it ispossible to determine whether to grant the utilization of the sound datausing the management information recently stored in the managementinformation memory 32 d even in a state in which the PC 30 is notconnected to the server 10 in this manner, it is possible to improveconvenience.

In order to use the management information recently stored in themanagement information memory 32 d in the state in which the PC 30 isnot connected to the server 10, it is necessary for the elapsed timefrom the clock time when the management information is stored to bewithin one week (S18: Yes, S19 in FIG. 5 ). If the elapsed time iswithin one week, there is a high probability that the managementinformation in the management information memory 32 d matches themanagement information in the server 10, and it is thus possible toallow the granting of the utilization of the sound data based on themanagement information recently stored and to improve convenience.

On the other hand, if the elapsed time exceeds one week, there is a highprobability that the management information in the managementinformation memory 32 d does not match the management information in theserver 10, and the user who is using the PC 30 can use the sound datathat is originally not available for the user. Thus, it is possible toprevent the sound data that is not available any more from beingpermanently used by inhibiting the utilization of the stored managementinformation and inhibiting the utilization of the sound data (S18: No,S20 in FIG. 5 , S42: No, S56 in FIG. 6 ) in a case in which the elapsedtime from the clock time when the management information is stored inthe management information memory 32 d exceeds one week.

Granting of the utilization of the sound data of the license types “2”,“3”, and “4” for the user changes on the basis of the managementinformation defined by the server 10. On the other hand, granting of theutilization of the sound data of the license type “1” does not change onthe basis of the management information defined by the server 10, andthe utilization of the sound data permitted once for the user ispermanently permitted. Therefore, in a case in which the user purchasesthe sound data of the license type “1”, the sound ID of the sound datais basically always stored in the purchase history memory 21 a of theindividual management information 21 of the user who purchased the sounddata.

Therefore, in a case in which the user IDs match each other in theprocess in S44 and the license type is “1” in the process in S46, thesound ID of the sound data associated with the license type is basicallyalways included in the sound ID in the purchase history memory 21 a, andthe processes in S47 and S48 may thus be skipped, and the sound dataselected at the time of the activation of the loading process may bestored in the work memory 33 c. In the present embodiment, whether togrant the utilization of the sound data is checked using the managementinformation through the processes in S47 and S48 even in a case in whichthe user IDs match each other in the process in S44 and the license typeis “1” in the process in S46, and it is thus possible to preventimproper utilization such as falsification and utilization of the sounddata of the license types “2”, “3”, and “4” as sound data of the licensetype “1”, for example.

Returning to FIG. 1 , the electronic musical instrument 50 will bedescribed. The electronic musical instrument 50 includes a CPU 51, aflash ROM 52, and a RAM 53, each of which is connected to a bus line 54.Also, each of an external input/output terminal 55, a keyboard 56,operators 57, a display part 58 that displays an error message or thelike, and a sound source 59 is connected to the bus line 54. A D/A 60 isconnected to the sound source 59, and a speaker 61 is connected to theD/A 60.

The keyboard 56 is an input device for the user (player) inputtingperformance information. The operators 57 are input devices forinputting commands from the user such as adjustment of a variable valuefor creating/editing sound data.

The sound source 59 is a device that controls various effects and thelike such as musical sound tone in accordance with sound generationsignals from the CPU 51. The D/A 60 and the speaker 61 are configuredsimilarly to the D/A 37 and the speaker 38 of the PC 30. The soundgeneration signals are output from the CPU 51 to the sound source 59 onthe basis of inputs of performance information to the keyboard 56, andthe sound generation signals are processed by the sound source 59. Theprocessed sound generation signals are output to the speaker 61 via theD/A 60, and musical sound is emitted from the speaker 61.

The CPU 51 is an arithmetic operation device that controls each partconnected via the bus line 54. The flash ROM 52 is a rewritablenon-volatile memory. The flash ROM 52 is provided with each of a soundaddition process program 52 a, a model ID memory 52 b, a user ID memory52 c, and a sound data memory 52 d. In FIG. 1 , the model ID memory 52b, the user ID memory 52 c, and the sound data memory 52 d areillustrated as “model ID”, “user ID”, and “sound data”, respectively.

The sound addition process program 52 a is a program that causeshardware (computer) to operate as the electronic musical instrument 50.The sound addition process (see FIG. 7 ) is executed as an interruptionprocess when sound data to be copied to the sound data memory 52 d inthe flash ROM 52 is selected from the owned sound data table 45 a in therecording medium 45 after the sound addition process program 52 a isexecuted by the CPU 51.

The model ID memory 52 b is a memory that stores a model ID unique tothe sound addition process program 52 a (electronic musical instrument50). Until the timing when the electronic musical instrument 50 isshipped from a plant, the model ID unique to the electronic musicalinstrument 50 has already been stored in the model ID memory 52 b. Also,the model ID memory 52 b may be overwritten with the model ID unique tothe updated sound addition process program 52 a when the sound additionprocess program 52 a is updated or the like.

The user ID memory 52 c is a memory that stores only one user ID of theuser who owns the electronic musical instrument 50. An invalid value isstored in the user ID memory 52 c at the timing when the electronicmusical instrument 50 is shipped from the plant. Also, in a case inwhich an operation of clearing the value in the user ID memory 52 c isperformed, the user ID memory 52 c is cleared by storing the invalidvalue in the user ID memory 52 c. When the invalid value is included inthe user ID memory 52 c in the sound addition process in FIG. 7 , theuser ID input by the user using the operators 57 is stored in the userID memory 52 c (FIG. 7 , S60, S61).

The sound data memory 52 d is a memory that stores sound data acquiredfrom the recording medium 45 via the external input/output terminal 55in a state in which the sound data is available for the musical soundgeneration process. The sound data memory 52 d can store a plurality ofpieces of sound data.

The RAM 53 is a memory that stores various kinds of work data, flags,and the like in a rewritable manner when the CPU 51 executes programssuch as the sound addition process program 52 a. The RAM 53 is providedwith a work memory 53 a.

The work memory 53 a is a memory that stores sound data to be used forthe musical sound generation process (sound generation signal generationprocess) in accordance with inputs of the keyboard 56. The work memory53 a is initialized with preset sound data and sound data set to be readfrom the sound data memory 52 d at the time of activation stored thereinwhen a power is supplied to the electronic musical instrument 50. Also,the preset sound data is data stored in a predetermined region (notillustrated) in the flash ROM 52 at the timing when the electronicmusical instrument 50 is shipped from the plant. In a case in whichsound data in the sound data memory 52 d is selected through operationsof the operators 57, the sound data is stored in the work memory 53 a.

The external input/output terminal 55 is an interface for transmittingand receiving various kinds of data to and from the portable recordingmedium 45. As described above, the owned sound data table 45 a in therecording medium 45 stores all the sound data and the authenticationinformation stored in the owned sound data table 32 c in the PC 30.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the sound addition process executed by the CPU 51of the electronic musical instrument 50 will be described. When sounddata to be copied from the recording medium 45 to the flash ROM 52 isselected after the CPU 51 executes the sound addition process program 52a, the sound addition process (see FIG. 7 ) is executed as aninterruption process. In the sound addition process, storage of the userID in the user ID memory 52 c and granting of utilization of sound dataare executed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the sound addition process. In the soundaddition process, whether or not the user ID stored in the user IDmemory 52 c in the flash ROM 52 in the electronic musical instrument 50is valid, that is, whether or not the user ID of the user who owns theelectronic musical instrument 50 has already been registered (stored) inthe electronic musical instrument 50 is checked (S60). In a case inwhich the user ID has not yet been registered in the electronic musicalinstrument 50 (S60: No), the user ID input by the user using theoperators 57 is stored in the user ID memory 52 c of the electronicmusical instrument 50 (S61), and the process in S62 is performed.

On the other hand, in a case in which the user ID stored in the user IDmemory 52 c is valid in the process in S60, that is, in a case in whichthe user ID of the user who owns the electronic musical instrument 50has already been stored in the electronic musical instrument 50 (S60:Yes), the process in S61 is skipped, and the process in S62 isperformed.

In the process in S62, each of the user ID, the model ID, and thelicense type stored in the owned sound data table 45 a in the recordingmedium 45 in association with the sound data selected at the time of theactivation of the sound addition process is acquired.

Whether or not the license type acquired in the process in S62 is thelicense type “1” that the utilization form of the sound data is based onpurchase is checked (S63). In a case in which the license type is not“1” (S63: No), the sound data selected at the time of the activation ofthe sound addition process is not compatible with the utilization forthe electronic musical instrument 50, the sound addition process isended with the utilization of the selected sound data inhibited, thatis, without storing, in the sound data memory 52 d in the electronicmusical instrument 50, the sound data in the owned sound data table 45 ain the recording medium 45 in an available state (S67).

For example, the sound data Nos. 2, 3, and 4 (sound IDs “1”, “9”, and“10”) of the license types “2”, “3”, and “4” in the sound data stored inthe owned sound data table 45 a illustrated in FIG. 3 cannot be storedin the electronic musical instrument 50 and is not available for themusical sound generation process of the electronic musical instrument50. The reason that the sound data of the license types “2”, “3”, and“4” is not available for the electronic musical instrument 50 will bedescribed.

Granting of utilization of the sound data of the license types “2”, “3”,and “4” for the user changes on the basis of the management informationdefined in the server 10. Also, since the electronic musical instrument50 cannot be connected to the server 10 that has the managementinformation, the management information has not been acquired or stored(the electronic musical instrument 50 does not have the managementinformation). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sound data frombeing permanently used by the electronic musical instrument 50 that doesnot have the management information by inhibiting the utilization of thesound data of the license types “2”, “3”, and “4”, the utilizationgranting of which changes on the basis of the management informationthat the server 10 has, in the electronic musical instrument 50(inhibiting storage of the sound data in the electronic musicalinstrument 50).

Further, in the process in S67, an error message related to theinhibition of the utilization of the selected sound data is displayed onthe display part 58. An error message of a non-compatible license typeor the like may be displayed as an error message displayed in theprocess in S67 in a case in which the license type is not “1” (S63: No).

In a case in which the license type acquired in the process in S62 is“1” in the process in S63 (S63: Yes), there is a probability that thesound data selected at the time of the activation of the sound additionprocess is available (the sound data can be stored in the electronicmusical instrument 50), and the process in S64 is thus performed. Thisis because the granting of the utilization of the sound data of thelicense type “1” does not change on the basis of the managementinformation defined in the server 10 and the utilization of the sounddata permitted once for the user is permanently permitted.

In the process in S64, whether or not the user ID acquired in theprocess in S62 matches the user ID stored in the user ID memory 52 c inthe electronic musical instrument 50 and indicating the user who owns(is using) the electronic musical instrument 50 is checked. In a case inwhich the user IDs do not match each other (S64: No), the process in S67of inhibiting the utilization of the sound data selected at the time ofthe activation of the sound addition process is performed, and the soundaddition process is then ended.

In a case in which the user ID acquired in the process in S62 matchesthe user ID of the electronic musical instrument 50 in the process inS64 (S64: Yes), there is a probability that the sound data selected atthe time of the activation of the sound addition process is available,and whether or not at least one model ID acquired in the process in S62matches the model ID that is stored in the model ID memory 52 b and isunique to the electronic musical instrument 50 is thus checked (S65).

In a case in which the model IDs do not match each other (S65: No), theprocess in S67 of inhibiting the utilization of the sound data selectedat the time of the activation of the sound addition process isperformed, and the sound addition process is then ended. An errormessage that the model IDs do not match each other or the like may bedisplayed as an error message displayed in the process in S67 in a casein which the model IDs do not match each other (S65: No).

In a case in which the model ID acquired in the process in S62 matchesthe model ID of the electronic musical instrument 50 in the process inS65 (S65: Yes), it is determined that the sound data selected at thetime of the activation of the sound addition process is available forthe musical sound generation process, the selected sound data is thusstored in the sound data memory 52 d in the flash ROM 52 in theelectronic musical instrument 50 from the recording medium 45 (S66), andthe sound addition process is ended.

Although the above description has been given hitherto, it is possibleto easily expect that the disclosure is not limited to theaforementioned embodiment and that various improvements andmodifications can be made without departing from the gist of thedisclosure. For example, the disclosure is not limited to the case inwhich the sound source 59 incorporated in the electronic musicalinstrument 50 is used, and the electronic musical instrument 50 may beconnected to an external sound source device. The disclosure is notlimited to the case in which one server 10 (distribution server)transmits sound data, authentication information, and managementinformation to the PC 30, and the distribution server may be configuredwith a server group including a server that transmits sound data andauthentication information to the PC 30 and a server that transmitsmanagement information to the PC 30.

Also, the disclosure is not limited to the case in which the PC 30acquires the management information and the like directly from thedistribution server via the Internet 2. The management information maybe transmitted from the distribution server to a device that isdifferent from the PC 30, such as a PC or a smartphone, via the Internet2, and the management information may then be transmitted from thevarious devices to the PC 30 via the Internet 2 or a portable storagedevice. In other words, the PC 30 may acquire the management informationfrom the distribution server via various devices, a storage device, orthe like, or the management information may be acquired from thedistribution server or an external device such as various devices or astorage device.

Also, the disclosure is not limited to the case in which the CPU 31 inthe PC 30 on which the instrument application program 32 a has beenexecuted executes the timer process at every one hour, and the intervalat which the timer process is executed may be appropriately changed.Although the case in which the management information updating flag 33 bis turned on if the elapsed time from the clock time when the managementinformation acquired from the server is stored in the managementinformation memory 32 d in the PC 30 is within one week in the state inwhich the PC 30 is not connected to the server 10 (S11: No, S18: Yes,S19) has been described, the disclosure is not necessarily limitedthereto. The elapsed time when the management information updating flag33 b is turned on may be appropriately changed.

Although the case in which the process of selecting the sound data to beused for the musical sound generation process from the HDD 32 andacquiring the sound data by the CPU 31 (at the time of the activation ofthe loading process) and the process in S43 of acquiring the sound ID,the user ID, the model ID, and the license type associated with thesound data by the CPU 31 are performed at different timings has beendescribed in the aforementioned embodiment, the disclosure is notnecessarily limited thereto. The CPU 31 may be caused to acquire theuser ID and the like associated with the selected sound data along withthe sound data when the sound data to be used for the musical soundgeneration process is selected from the HDD 32.

Although the case in which the PC 30 operates as a synthesizer using theinstrument application program 32 a that causes a computer to executethe musical sound generation process using sound data and a case inwhich the electronic musical instrument 50 including the sound additionprocess program 52 a is a synthesizer have been described in theaforementioned embodiment, the disclosure is not necessarily limitedthereto. The electronic musical instrument using sound data for themusical sound generation process may be configured with an electronickeyboard instrument other than the synthesizer, such as an electronicpiano or an electronic organ, an electronic percussion instrument, or anelectronic guitar, and the disclosure may be applied to a program thatcauses a computer to operate as the electronic musical instrument.

Although the case in which the final access clock time indicating aclock time when the management information is stored in the managementinformation memory 32 d is stored in the individual managementinformation 21 in the management information stored in the managementinformation memory 32 d has been described in the aforementionedembodiment, the disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto. The finalaccess clock time may be stored in a predetermined region in the HDD 32in the PC 30.

Although the case in which the process in S44 of matching the user IDs,the process in S45 of matching the model IDs, and the processes in S46to S48 and S51 to S53 of matching the sound IDs for each license typeare performed in order in the sound data loading process of the PC 30illustrated in FIG. 6 has been described in the aforementionedembodiment, the disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto. The orderof the processes may be appropriately changed. Also, the process in S42of checking whether or not the management information updating flag 33 bhas been turned on may be performed after the processes in S44 and S45on the assumption that the process in S42 is performed before theprocesses in S46 to S48 and S51 to S53. Similarly, the order of theprocess in S63 related to the license type, the process in S64 ofmatching the user IDs, and the process in S65 of matching the model IDsmay be similarly appropriately changed even in the sound additionprocess of the electronic musical instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 7 .

Although the case in which the HDD 32 incorporated in the PC 30 isprovided with the owned sound data table 32 c and the managementinformation memory 32 d has been described in the aforementionedembodiment, the disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto. Therecording medium 45 or another non-volatile memory connected to theexternal input/output terminal 42 of the PC 30 may be provided with theowned sound data table 32 c and the management information memory 32 d.

The case in which the electronic musical instrument 50 in theaforementioned embodiment executes the sound addition process in FIG. 7in a case in which sound data stored in the owned sound data table 45 ain the recording medium 45 is copied to the sound data memory 52 d inthe electronic musical instrument 50 has been described, the disclosureis not necessarily limited thereto. The sound data memory 52 d may beomitted, and the sound addition process may be performed when it isattempted to temporarily store the sound data in the work memory 53 a touse the sound data in the recording medium 45 for the musical soundgeneration process. In this case, in the process in S66, the sound dataselected at the time of the activation of the sound addition process isstored in the work memory 53 a in the PC 30 from the recording medium45, such that the sound data is available for the musical soundgeneration process. Also, the sound data memory 52 d may be omitted, andthe aforementioned sound addition process may be executed in a case inwhich the owned sound data table 45 a in the recording medium 45 iscopied to the flash ROM 52 in the electronic musical instrument 50 andthe sound data stored in the owned sound data table 45 a in the flashROM 52 is selected.

Although the case in which the electronic musical instrument 50 in theaforementioned embodiment acquires the sound data and the authenticationinformation from the PC 30 via the recording medium 45 has beendescribed, the disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto. Acommunication part for connection to the Internet 2 may be provided inthe electronic musical instrument 50, the owned sound data table 32 cmay be provided in the flash ROM 52 in the electronic musical instrument50 instead of the management information memory 32 d and the sound datamemory 52 d, the management information updating flag 33 b may beprovided in the RAM 33, and the RTC 41 may be connected to the bus line54. In this manner, the electronic musical instrument 50 can alsoexecute each of the processes illustrated in FIGS. 4(a) to 6 similarlyto the PC 30.

Also, the electronic musical instrument 50 may be caused to store oracquire the management information by connecting the recording medium 45storing the management information in the predetermined region to theelectronic musical instrument 50 or copying the management informationin the recording medium 45 in the predetermined region in the flash ROM52 in the electronic musical instrument 50, and the managementinformation updating process may be performed immediately after thepower is supplied to the electronic musical instrument 50 or on aperiodic basis. As the management information updating process in thiscase, the processes in S17 to S20 in FIG. 5 are executed. It is thuspossible to perform the processes in S62 to S67 in the sound additionprocess of the electronic musical instrument 50 similarly to the sounddata loading process of the PC 30.

Although the case in which if the user registration in a service forobtaining sound data from the server 10 is canceled, the individualmanagement information 21 related to the user, the registration of whichis canceled, is deleted from the management information memory 12 b inthe server 10 has been described in the aforementioned embodiment, thedisclosure is not limited thereto. “Non-member” may be set in thesubscription authority of the user, the registration of which has beencanceled, without deleting the individual management information 21related to the user, the registration of which has been canceled. Inthis case, it is possible to allow the user to obtain the sound data onthe basis of a past purchase history when the user registers the serviceagain. Also, in a case in which the individual management information 21related to the user, the registration of which has been canceled, isleft, whether or not the subscription authority is “non-member” ischecked in the process in S13 in FIG. 5 , and the process in S14 isperformed if the subscription authority is not “non-member”, or theprocess in S16 is performed if the subscription authority is“non-member”.

Although the case in which the process in S44 of matching the user IDs,the process in S45 of matching the model IDs, and the processes in S46to S48 and S51 to S53 of matching the sound IDs for each license typeare performed in the sound data loading process of the PC 30 in theaforementioned embodiment has been described, the disclosure is notlimited thereto. At least one of the user ID, the model ID, and thelicense type stored in the owned sound data tables 32 c and 45 a inassociation with the sound data may be omitted, and matching using theomitted one may be omitted.

Although the case in which the identifier “—” that matches all the modelIDs is set for the model ID associated with the license type “3” in theproduct information table 23 a in the aforementioned embodiment has beendescribed, the disclosure is not limited thereto. “—” may be set for themodel ID associated with the license types “1”, “2”, and “4”. Also, aplurality of model IDs may be set as the model IDs associated with thelicense types “1”, “2”, and “3”.

Although the instrument application program 32 a that causes the CPU 31to execute the processes in S1 to S3 in FIG. 4(a), the timer process inFIG. 4(b), the sound data loading process and the musical soundgeneration process in FIG. 6 has been described in the aforementionedembodiment, the disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto. Theinstrument application program 32 a may include a management informationupdating program of causing the CPU 31 to execute the processes in S1 toS3 at the time of the activation and the timer process and a musicalinstrument application main part program of causing the CPU 31 toexecute the processes in S1 and S2 at the time of the activation, thesound data loading process, and the musical sound generation process.Also, in a case in which the processing based on the managementinformation updating program is ended to prevent the timer process frombeing executed, the management information updating flag 33 b is set tobe OFF. In this manner, it is possible to end the management updatingprogram when the management information updating flag 33 b is turned onand to prevent the musical instrument application main part program fromcontinuing to grant the utilization of the sound data using oldmanagement information.

Moreover, the processes in S1 and S2 in the management informationupdating program and the processes in S1 and S2 in the musicalinstrument application main part program are different processes.Therefore, each of the user ID memory that stores the user ID in theprocess in S2 in the management information updating program and theuser ID memory that stores the user ID in the process in S2 in themusical instrument main part program may be provided in the HDD 32 orthe like. In this case, whether or not the user IDs in the two user IDmemories match each other is checked before the process in S42 in FIG. 6, and the process in S42 is performed if the user IDs match each other,or the process in S56 is performed if the user IDs do not match eachother. Also, the order of the process of checking whether or not theuser IDs of the two user ID memories match each other and the process inS42 may be opposite. In this manner, it is possible to prevent theutilization of the sound data from being granted using the individualmanagement information 21 of a user who is different from the user whohas logged in the musical instrument application main part program forutilization.

However, one user ID memory 33 a may be provided, and in a case in whicha user ID is stored in the user ID memory 33 a before in the processesin S1 and S2 in the management information updating program, automaticlogging-in may be performed in the process in S1 in the musicalinstrument application main part program using the user ID. In thismanner, it is possible to omit efforts of the user of inputting the samelogging-in information and to prevent the utilization of the sound datafrom being granted using the individual management information 21 ofanother user. Further, it is possible to omit efforts of the user to login a plurality of musical instrument application main part programs ifthe user logs in the management information updating program once evenin a case in which the plurality of musical application main partprograms are executed on the PC 30.

Although the PC 30 has been exemplified as the computer that executesthe instrument application program 32 a in the aforementionedembodiment, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and a device such asa smartphone or a tablet terminal may execute the instrument applicationprogram 32 a. Also, the disclosure may be applied to a dedicated devicethat executes only the instrument application program 32 a with theinstrument application program 32 a stored in a ROM or the like.

The numerical values described in the aforementioned embodiment are justexamples, and it is a matter of course that other numerical values maybe employed.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodimentswithout departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view ofthe foregoing, it is intended that the disclosure covers modificationsand variations provided that they fall within the scope of the followingclaims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumcomprising computer-readable instructions such that, when executed,causes processing electronics of a computer to control the computer to:store authentication information, the authentication informationincluding a license type associated with each of a plurality ofseparately selectable sound data, and a sound ID associated with each ofthe plurality of selectable sound data; acquire a sound ID and a licensetype associated in the authentication information with sound dataselected from the plurality of separately selectable sound data;determine that the license type associated with the selected sound datais a subscription type license; determine whether the sound IDassociated with the selected sound data is associated with at least onesubscription type, upon determining that the license type associatedwith the sound data is a subscription type license; and enable loadinginto working memory the selected sound data associated in theauthentication information with the sound ID upon determining that thesound ID of the selected sound data is associated with the at least onesubscription type, or enable generating audible sound based on theselected sound data associated in the authentication information withthe sound ID upon determining that the sound ID of the selected sounddata is associated with the at least one subscription type.
 2. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 1, wherein,to determine whether the sound ID is associated with at least onesubscription type comprises causing the processing electronics tocontrol the computer to: access subscription information for at leastone subscription type, the subscription information including one ormore sound IDs associated with each respective subscription type of theat least one subscription type; and determine whether the sound IDassociated with the selected sound data is associated with the at leastone subscription type in the accessed subscription information.
 3. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 2, whereinthe at least one subscription type comprises at least one firstsubscription type and the accessed subscription information for eachfirst subscription type includes the sound ID associated with one ormore, but not all, of the plurality of separately selectable sound data.4. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 3,wherein the plurality of subscription types comprises a secondsubscription type and the accessed subscription information for thesecond subscription type includes the sound ID associated with all ofthe plurality of separately selectable sound data.
 5. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium according to claim 1, further causing thecomputer to generate sound based, at least in part, on the at least oneselected sound data item, upon loading the at least one sound data iteminto the working memory or upon enabling generating audible sound. 6.The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 1,further causing the computer to inhibit execution of the musical soundgeneration process using the first sound data in a case in which it isdetermined that the license type associated with the sound data is asubscription type license, and that the sound ID associated with theselected sound data is not associated with the at least one subscriptiontype.
 7. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim1, wherein the computer-readable instructions further cause theprocessing electronics to control the computer to receive informationidentifying the selected sound data, before determining that the licensetype associated with the selected sound data is a subscription typelicense.
 8. The non-transitory computer readable medium according toclaim 1, further causing the computer to: determine, in response toreceiving information identifying the selected sound data, whether thestored authentication information is updated; wherein the acquiring ofthe sound ID and the license type is carried out in response todetermining that the stored authentication information is updated. 9.The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 8,further causing the computer to inhibit execution of the musical soundgeneration process using the first sound data in a case in which it isdetermined that the stored authentication information is not updated.10. A system for controlling sound generation for an electronic musicalinstrument, the system comprising processing electronics and electronicmemory, wherein the processing electronics is configured to: storeauthentication information in the electronic memory, the authenticationinformation including a license type associated with each of a pluralityof separately selectable sound data, and a sound ID associated with eachof the plurality of selectable sound data; acquire a sound ID and alicense type associated in the authentication information with sounddata selected from the plurality of separately selectable sound data;determine that the license type associated with the selected sound datais a subscription type license; determine whether the sound IDassociated with the selected sound data is associated with at least onesubscription type, upon determining that the license type associatedwith the sound data is a subscription type license; and enable loadinginto working memory the selected sound data associated in theauthentication information with the sound ID, or enable generatingaudible sound based on the selected sound data associated in theauthentication information with the sound ID, upon determining that thesound ID of the selected sound data is associated with at least onesubscription type.
 11. The system according to claim 10, wherein, todetermine whether the sound ID is associated with at least onesubscription type, the processing electronics is further configured to:access subscription information for a plurality of subscription types,the subscription information including one or more sound IDs associatedwith each one of the plurality of subscription types; and determinewhether the sound ID associated with the selected sound data isassociated with at least one subscription type in the accessedsubscription information.
 12. The system according to claim 11, whereinthe plurality of subscription types comprises at least one firstsubscription type and the accessed subscription information for eachfirst subscription type includes the sound ID associated with one ormore, but not all, of the plurality of separately selectable sound data.13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the plurality ofsubscription types comprises a second subscription type and the accessedsubscription information for the second subscription type includes thesound ID associated with all of the plurality of separately selectablesound data.
 14. The system according to claim 10, wherein the processingelectronics is further configured to generate sound based at least onpart on the at least one selected sound data item, upon loading the atleast one sound data item into the working memory or upon enablinggenerating audible sound.
 15. The system according to claim 10, whereinthe processing electronics is further configured to inhibit execution ofthe musical sound generation process using the first sound data in acase in which it is determined that the license type associated with thesound data is a subscription type license, and that the sound IDassociated with the selected sound data is not associated with at leastone subscription type.
 16. The system according to claim 10, wherein theprocessing electronics is further configured to receive informationidentifying the selected sound data, before determining that the licensetype associated with the selected sound data is a subscription typelicense.
 17. The system according to claim 10, wherein the processingelectronics is further configured to: determine, in response toreceiving information identifying the selected sound data, whether thestored authentication information is updated; wherein the acquiring ofthe sound ID and the license type is carried out in response todetermining that the stored authentication information is updated. 18.The system according to claim 17, wherein the processing electronics isfurther configured to inhibit execution of the musical sound generationprocess using the first sound data in a case in which it is determinedthat the stored authentication information is not updated.
 19. A methodfor controlling sound generation for an electronic musical instrument,the method comprising: storing authentication information in anelectronic memory, the authentication information including at least onesubscription type associated with each of a plurality of separatelyselectable sound data, and a sound ID associated with each of theplurality of selectable sound data; acquiring, with processingelectronics, a sound ID and at least one subscription type associated inthe authentication information with sound data selected from theplurality of separately selectable sound data; determining, with theprocessing electronics, whether the sound ID associated with theselected sound data is associated with at least one subscription type;and enabling with the processing electronics, loading into workingmemory the selected sound data associated in the authenticationinformation with the sound ID, or enabling with the processingelectronics, generating audible sound based on the selected sound dataassociated in the authentication information with the sound ID, upondetermining that the sound ID of the selected sound data is associatedwith at least one subscription type.
 20. A method for controlling soundgeneration for an electronic musical instrument, the method comprising:storing authentication information in an electronic memory, theauthentication information including a license type associated with eachof a plurality of separately selectable sound data, and a sound IDassociated with each of the plurality of selectable sound data;acquiring, with processing electronics, a sound ID and a license typeassociated in the authentication information with sound data selectedfrom the plurality of separately selectable sound data; determining,with the processing electronics, that the license type associated withthe selected sound data is a subscription type license; determining,with the processing electronics, whether the sound ID associated withthe selected sound data is associated with at least one subscriptiontype, upon determining that the license type associated with the sounddata is a subscription type license; and enabling with the processingelectronics, loading into working memory the selected sound dataassociated in the authentication information with the sound ID, orenabling with the processing electronics, generating audible sound basedon the selected sound data associated in the authentication informationwith the sound ID, upon determining that the sound ID of the selectedsound data is associated with at least one subscription type.
 21. Themethod according to claim 20, wherein determining whether the sound IDis associated with at least one subscription type comprises: accessingsubscription information for a plurality of subscription types, thesubscription information including one or more sound IDs associated witheach one of the plurality of subscription types; and determining whetherthe sound ID associated with the selected sound data is associated withat least one subscription type in the accessed subscription information.